[price tag] Settlers set fire to mosque near Ramallah
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) 7 June -- A Ramallah-area mosque was torched overnight
and its remains graffitied with racist anti-Arab slogans; witnesses said
Israeli settlers were seen setting the fire at 3 a.m. on Tuesday
morning. Al-Mughayyir's village council said the building was badly
damaged, and its contents incinerated, drawing condemnation of the third
mosque torching in three years ... The vandals spray-painted "Alei Ayin"
on the walls, which is the name of
a nearby settlement outpost demolished by Israeli police last week,
sparking fierce clashes with the settlers ... The National Christian
Coalition in the Holy land condemned the arson, with President Dimitri
Diliani blaming Israel's occupation and unquestioning protection of
militarized settlers ... Al-Mughayyir, north
east of Ramallah, is the fifth village to have their
mosque vandalized by settlers in the last three years, four of which
were burnt down. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394434

Netanyahu condemns West Bank mosque attack as 'criminal act'
Haaretz 7 June -- Defense Minister Barak echoes PM's condemnation and
says IDF will take steps to catch the perpetrators ... Civil rights
organizations have spoken out against the arson as well.
Rabbis for Human Rights said Tuesday that this kind violence threatens
everyone and may backfire. "This despicable act goes against human
morality and our Jewish belief that we must not harm followers of
different religion," the organization said in a statement. The Peace Now
movement responded by calling for more decisive actions against violent
settlers. "The Shin Bet security service and the police must uproot the
'hill youth' phenomenon," it said.
This condemnation has not, however, been universal. Rightist activist
Itamar Ben-Gvir said the arson doesn't come
as a surprise. "In the last few months Jewish blood has been spilled
like water in Judea and Samaria," he said.http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-condemns-west-bank-mosque-attack-as-criminal-act-1.366525

Israel to approve 4,100 settlement units in Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC) 6 June -- An expert planning researcher has
revealed that an official board in Israel is on the verge of approving
the construction of 4,100 houses in Jewish settlements in Jerusalem. The
Israeli interior ministry tasked the board two months ago to see that
settlement construction increases in Jerusalem, said Attorney Qais
Nasser, who specializes in monitoring settlement activity in holy city.
In its first session scheduled for June 14, the committee is expected to
approve plans to erect 4,100 homes in Ramat Shlomo, Gilo, Pisgat Ze'ev,
and Har Homa.http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%

Dark days for Silwan's youthSilwan,
Jerusalem
(SILWANIC) 7 June -- Israel’s continuous arrest campaign of Palestinian
youth and children of Silwan has intensified in recent weeks, with no
place or activity seemingly safe for minors from Israeli authorities.
Arrests have occurred as children return from school, drink
coffee on the balcony of their family home or buy vegetables in the
street. Many minor arrests in recent days have taken place during quiet
periods in Silwan, entirely unprovoked. The campaign highlights Israeli
authorities’ willingness to defy basic standards of conduct and
treatment, such as targeting and criminalisation of minors. Humiliation
and physical assault are reportedly commonplace in interrogation and
detention, even for minors. 7 children numbered amongst 8 arrested by
Israeli forces in Silwan today. One child arrested, Yahya al-Rishaq, is
not even 6 years of age. Despite al-Rishaq’s attempts to persuade
soldiers not to take his young son, Israeli forces insisted on his
arrest.http://silwanic.net/?p=17999

Violence

Rights group: Israel holding boy nearly blinded by IOF
NABLUS, (PIC) 6 June -- A human rights group has revealed that the
Israel Prison Service is detaining an ill Palestinian boy left nearly
blind by Israeli occupation force soldiers. The development shows that
the IPS has not restricted its medical neglect policy to adult prisoners
alone. Ismail Turki Mohammed Okel, 16, from the Old City of Nablus was
arrested a year back and sentenced to 20 months in jail ... [His mother]
said that earlier in 2002, Ismail was caught in a situation while
playing ball with friends. After an Israeli soldier stationed nearby
claimed to have been attacked by stones, patrol
cars began searching for suspects; and they reportedly hit Okel with
their vehicle under suspicion that he was behind the attack. Ismail's
mother Umm Rasmi asserted that the soldiers not only ran Oker down but
they also assaulted him with the
butts of their rifles, putting him in a coma for a week as he stayed at
the Rafidia hospital in Nablus. The crash broke Oker's skull and caused
internal bleeding and broken teeth and back pains, and he also lost
about 70 percent of his vision, ISHRO researcher Ahmed al-Beitawi said.http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2B

OCHA weekly report says 13 Palestinians injured in West Bank at end of MayJERUSALEM
(WAFA)
7 June -- Israeli forces injured 13 Palestinians in
West Bank incidents during the week between May 25 and 31, said the
weekly report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHA) ... Thus far in
2011, 699 Palestinians and 47 Israeli soldiers and policemen
were injured in conflict-related incidents in the West Bank, including
East Jerusalem, a 6% increase and 44% decline, respectively, compared to
the equivalent period of 2010. ... Overall that week, Israeli forces
conducted over 100 search-and-arrest operations throughout the West
Bank, including in East Jerusalem, a slight increase compared to the
weekly average for such operations since
the beginning of 2011.http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=16377

Gaza - under siege for 1,455 days now

Gaza: Non-violent protester injured by Israeli fire
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 June -- A young Palestinian man was injured Tuesday
when Israeli forces opened fire on a non-violent rally in Beit Hanoun
near Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. A group of dozens had
marched toward the border with Israel, demanding Israel's disengagement
from a swath of land inside the coastal enclave that has been declared a
"no-go zone" by the military. Eyewitnesses identified the injured man as
Muhammad Osama Kafarna, saying he was shot in his head and neck and was
evacuated to a hospital in Beit Hanoun ... Extending between 300-1,500
meters from the border, the "no-go zone" consumes 20 percent of the
arable land in the coastal enclave. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394602

Rafah crossing to re-open Wednesday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 June -- The crossing between Egypt and the Gaza
Strip will be re-opened Wednesday after a four-day closure, the
Palestinian official responsible for the Rafah terminal said Tuesday.
Ayyoub Abu Sha‘ar said in a statement that the transit point would open
normally in both directions for travel, and travelers on a list of
passengers due to cross last Thursday and Saturday would be given
priority.http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394733

Gaza activists: Monitoring boat to sail WednesdayBETHLEHEM
(Ma‘an) 7 June -- The first monitoring boat in Gaza waters crewed by
international citizens will set sail on Wednesday morning, activists
said. The vessel, named Oliva, will leave from Gaza City fishing
port with crew from Spain, the US, Sweden and the UK, and accompany Gaza
fisherman in the waters, organizers said in a statement released
Tuesday. "Violations of international law will be monitored, documented,
and disseminated," the release from the Civil Peace Service said ...
Israeli military vessels monitor the Gaza coast and enforcing a fishing
limit of three nautical miles and blockade of the Gaza Strip, with
fishermen reporting fire, boat confiscations and detentions by the
navy.
Last Wednesday, fishermen said one skiff was hit by an Israeli ship and sunk, injuring a fisherman, off the southern Gaza coast.http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394677

Turkey asks flotilla to 'rethink' planned voyageANKARA,
Turkey (AFP) 7 June -- Turkey's foreign minister has called on
activists to rethink a planned flotilla to the blockaded Gaza Strip and
suggested how to avoid fresh tensions after last year's bloodshed,
reports said. "Civic groups should take into account the fact that the
Rafah crossing [between Gaza and Egypt] has been opened and... act in a
more careful manner," Ahmet Davutoğlu said in remarks carried by
Anatolia news agency Tuesday.http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394646

Three arrested in Majdal Shams; Israeli army enforces closure of the Golan HeightsMajdal
Shams (PNN) 7 June -- At dawn on Tuesday, the Israeli police arrested
three young men from the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan
Heights after clashes erupted between local youth and Israeli soldiers.
Young men and women from Majdal Shams organized a protest that started
late on Monday evening. The youngsters were protesting the Israeli
military attack on Naksa Day protesters on Sunday across the border from
Majdal Shams, which left 23 dead, according to Syrian TV.In related
developments Israeli army radio announced that the West Bank and
Gaza would be closed military zones and only people with special
permission and humanitarian cases would be allowed through to Israel.http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10182&Itemid=63

Syria warns of more marches on Israeli border, says thousands of refugees will return
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) 7 June -- A Syrian government newspaper said
Tuesday that more Syrians and Palestinians plan to march to the Israeli
border, warning Israel the day will come when hundreds of thousands of
refugees return to their occupied villages.Israeli forces opened fire on
Palestinian and Syrian protesters
Sunday, killing as many as 23 people who tried to cross into the
Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The article referred to
Palestinian refugees in camps in Syria, as well as Syrians who fled the
Golan Heights when Israel captured the strategic
plateau in the 1967 Mideast war.

IHH publishes second Marmara book
Ynet
7 June -- Turkey's IHH, the group which organized the 2010 Gaza
flotilla, has released a book detailing the story of the aid sail and
its tragic results,
Ynet learned Tuesday. The book, titled "Freedom Flotilla
through Language of Global Conscience: Interviews with Passengers,”
follows a previous publication by the IHH, “Mavi Marmara/Gaza Freedom
Flotilla,” and reportedly details
"never before published testimonies" by 39 passengers. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4079460,00.html

Israeli forces detain man in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 7 June -- Israeli forces detained a Palestinian man in
Jenin on Tuesday morning, after a raid on houses in the city's ancient
center. Palestinian
security sources said Hani Adnan Makhzoum was detained after 15 military
vehicles entered the city, fired sound grenades and raided a number of
houses. Also Tuesday morning, witnesses told Ma'an that the Israeli army
set up a
flying checkpoint to the south of Jenin. Soldiers stopped cars on the
road between villages Meithalun and Sanur, with no detentions reported,
the locals said. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394663

Hamas: PA detained 4 members in West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 June -- In a statement, Hamas officials in the West
Bank accused Palestinian Authority security forces of arresting four of
the party's members and summoning several others for an appearance in
front of police. The statement, issued on Tuesday, was the first
accusing PA-affiliated security forces of carrying out
politically-motivated arrests since the signing of a unity agreement in
early May. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394621

WAFA monitors incitement and racism in Israeli media May 27-June 2
RAMALLAH
(WAFA) June -- Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli researcher and lecturer at
Bar-Ilan University, published a racist article on NFC website under the
title "Arabs Can’t Live Without War and Arms." He said that Netanyahu’s
demand
of a demilitarized Palestinian state is absurd and unacceptable for the
Arabs, who live by the law of the gun, adding "perpetual conflicts are
the core of an Arab’s existence." ... . M. Shalom wrote an instigating
article against Abbas in 'Hamodia' newspaper, accusing him of being a
racist. ... Shalom also attacked Islam, saying that deception and lying
are Arabs’ main traits and solid characteristics of Mohammad’s religion.http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=16384

Israel's treatment of gay Palestinian asylum seekers / Caroline Esser
WashNote 6 June -- ...Israel advocacy groups like the ADL and the Jewish
Federations have latched on to LGBT rights in Israel as a means of
combating negative press and demonstrating Israel's dedication to equal
rights and democracy ... Sadly, when the ADL wrote in small print that
Israel supports civil rights for "all its citizens" it meant exactly what it said--basic human rights are strictly for Israelis. In their 2008 study,
"Nowhere to Run: Gay Palestinian Asylum-Seekers in Israel," Michael
Kagan and Anat Ben-Dor describe in detail Israel's unsympathetic and
unbending policy towards gay Palestinians. In stark contrast to the
vibrant gay culture within Israel, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Palestinians face intense discrimination and often brutal violence if
they are discovered to be gay ... However, despite their desperation,
Israel refuses to even review gay Palestinian applications for asylum
(those who have successfully received asylum have had to submit their
cases directly to the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva). Moreover, gay
Palestinians who have illegally entered Israel have been arrested and
promptly deportedhttp://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2011/06/israels_treatme/

France: Israel considering Paris peace talksWASHINGTON
(Ma‘an) 7 June -- Israel is considering a French proposal to resume
peace talks with Palestine in Paris before the end of June, France's
foreign minister told reporters in the United Sates on Wednesday.
Speaking
alongside the minister, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the
two discussed Paris' plan, "will be certainly working together," she
said, adding that both nations believed the "status quo is
unsustainable." http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394555

Blair open to French Mideast peace talks
OSLO, Norway (AFP) 7 June -- Tony Blair, the envoy of the Quartet group
of world powers seeking an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, said Tuesday
he was open to a French proposal to host a Middle East peace conference.
"What the French foreign minister has been saying is absolutely right
in
the sense that you need to put together not just the support for
Palestinian statehood and institutions building, but some political
momentum has to be injected back into this," he said on a visit to Oslo.http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=394592

US delegation visits Cairo to study Egypt's new foreign policy
MEMO
7 June -- A US delegation of members of both Houses of Congress has been
touring the Middle East, beginning with Cairo to identify new aspects
of Egypt's
foreign policy. The delegation met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil
Al-Araby, who briefed them on the most important characteristics of the
policy and its impact on various regional issues. Paramount is how Egypt
is going to manage its role in the Israel-Palestine conflict; the
American delegation is also going to visit Tel Aviv. The meeting
included a discussion of the latest regional political and social
developments ... The delegation's visit, headed by Democrat John
Yarmouth, was arranged by Jewish-American organisation J Street.http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/americas/2438

J Street: PM refuses to meet delegationYnet
6
June -- Despite enjoying a hearty welcome at the US Congress
recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to meet with a
delegation of representatives organized by J Street, the liberal Jewish
lobby said Sunday ... The delegation, composed of Democratic
Congress members, was set to arrive in Israel on Monday. The trip was
initiated by J Street, considered a controversial group known for its
fierce criticism of Israel, particularly over the issue of West Bank
settlements. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4078936,00.html

Other news

Israeli towns' new line of defense from Gaza rockets: trees
Haaretz
7 June -- Israel has spent no less than NIS 1.6 billion on defenses for
the townships around the Gaza Strip in the last five years, Udi Shani,
Defense Ministry director general, said yesterday. "We view the present
state of quiet as transient," said Shani, speaking during a tour of the
boundary between Israel and the Strip ... One [defense] is afforestation
-- planting rows of trees by the towns located along
the Gaza Strip. The idea is that the trees will prevent precise mortar
fire on Israeli targets and camouflage Israeli troops. [Just give Gaza
justice and freedom and you won't have to spend anything....]http://english.themarker.com/israeli-towns-new-line-of-defense-from-gaza-rockets-trees-1.366450

OPT: Huge demand for hearing aidsTULKAREM,
WEST BANK (IRIN) 7 June -- Hearing impairments are common
among Palestinians mainly due to inherited genetic mutations and lack of
access to adequate medical services which allows minor infections to
develop into major problems, according to Rafi Walden, a surgeon at
Sheba medical centre in Israel ... "Hearing aids are not funded by
Palestinian public health providers and are out of reach for nearly all
Palestinians," said Salah Haj Yihyeh, who recently coordinated a
donation of hearing aids by the Starkey Hearing Foundation
to 1,000 Palestinians in Tulkarem. Before this, speech therapists and
experts from the Sheba medical centre had visited the area in April. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92923

Analysis / Opinion / Human interest

Finding the Israel lobby on the map / Yusuf Munayyer
7
June -- How can you see the influence of the pro-Israel lobby on a map?
... You could, I suppose, look up the address of AIPAC headquarters, but
that wouldn't be nearly as illustrative as this ... [W]hen you study
a conflict over land, the precise location of every square meter is
important. For years, Israel's
continued colonization of Palestinian territory has happened one
settlement or one settlement home at a time. Hilltops, aquifers,
valleys, walls, checkpoints, distances, locations are all vital for
understanding the intricacies of this conflict. So, as with just about
every field, technology has revolutionized the study of Palestinian
geography, especially with the advent of widely available satellite
imagery (e.g. Google Maps) which allows anyone with a computer to see
how big illegal settlements around Jerusalem are, just how deep Ariel
protrudes into the West Bank or how tiny Gaza really is .... Take a look
at this image, for example. What you are looking at, at Google Maps'
highest available resolution, is Military Aircraft parked at Area 51,
the secret U.S. military base in Nevada's desert used to test and
develop state of the art weapons and planes. Go ahead, zoom in and out.
But if we were to look at any random location in Israel at Google Maps'
highest resolution, not say a top-secret military facility, we get this:
[blurs] This image is supposed to be of the Dahmash village outside of
my ancestral hometown of Al-Lyd. Dahmash is an Arab village unrecognized
by
the state and thus homes there do not receive permits and they are
subject to demolition. Hardly a sensitive military location, in fact, it
is more like a shanty town. If you zoom out you can see it. But you
won't be able to see it, or any other area under Israeli state control
(including in the Occupied Territories) at the highest resolution. Why
is that? Well, it's because Congress passed a law which stipulated that
Israel and any territory it controls deserve more privacy than the USA's
most secret military installations.

Shavuot 2011: Obscenities as words of Torah / Yossi Sarid7
June -- This isn't the Torah we received. Since that time, Israel has
been swallowed up by the Land of Israel and disappeared inside its maw
-- Go to your computer right now and watch the frightening video clip
posted on YouTube as a memento of Jerusalem Day (it's called "Yom Yeru
2011" ). Not a handful, but hundreds of young people high on hard-core
nationalism wave blue-and-white flags; may their eyes grow dim. "Death
to the Arabs, death to the leftists,"
they chanted. "The Temple will be rebuilt, the mosque will be
destroyed." "Kahane lives, Mohammed is dead." "Itbach al-Arab" ("Death
to the Arabs" in Arabic ). Thus they elevate Jerusalem as their chief
sin: May their tongues cleave to their palates. While I was roaming
Jerusalem's streets, another mob was gathering at the city's Mercaz
Harav Yeshiva, with rabbis Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed and
Dov Lior of Hebron among the guests. The former demands Israel be purged
of Arabs, while the latter endorses a book that justifies killing
gentiles, urges soldiers to disobey orders and refuses to show up for
questioning by the police. Nowadays, every obscenity is treated as
'words of Torah.' A bill was even submitted for discussion to the
cabinet that would permit incitement by rabbis, and rabbis only. And MK
Michael Ben Ari (National Union ) was also among the guests. The guest
of honor was the prime minister; lift up your heads, O ye gates. "I see
you as an elite Torah combat unit," the king of glory - and of shame -
said fawningly. Now the Torah,
too, has its own elite combat unit.http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/shavuot-2011-obscenities-as-words-of-torah-1.366422

Israel-Palestinian conflict is in the eye of the beholder / Amira Hass
Haaretz
6 June -- Israel is fighting against the memory of the Nakba, whereas
others are searching for ways to give the Nakba its rightful place in
teaching and education -- Some six months ago, 54 Israeli and
Palestinian students received a series of photos and were asked to
describe them and jot down their impressions and the feelings stirred by
them in two stages - before seeing the caption explaining them and then
afterwards ... Some 32 such photos from 1948, along with the
impressions of the Palestinian and Israeli students, appear in a book
called "Zoom In, Palestinian Refugees of 1948, Remembrances." The book
was issued by the Holland-based Institute for Historical Justice and
Reconciliation, which
"seeks to dispel public myths about historic legacies in societies
divided by ethnic conflict."
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/israel-palestinian-conflict-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-1.366212

Haaretz editorial: Readiness and blindness in the Golan Heights7
June -- The IDF proved this week that it does a good job preparing for
the previous war. ... On Sunday, Naksa Day, the Israel Defense Forces
succeeded in blocking hundreds of demonstrators who, surrounded by
cameras, stormed the border
fences in the Golan Heights, carrying flags, posters and loudspeakers
... The Palestinians reckoned they would have casualties. They too have
learned lessons from May 15. It did not deter them, and there are no
grounds to assume it will deter others on other fronts, especially when
the regimes or organizations holding the Arab side of the border have no
interest in acting against the demonstrators. The incidents have also
shown that 30 years of forced annexation and naturalization have not
turned the Golan Druze into devoted Israeli citizens.
This has become routine in the Israeli-Arab conflict -- the IDF scores a
tactical victory, which shrinks in contrast
to the strategic failure. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/readiness-and-blindness-in-the-golan-heights-1.366418